PROFILE: Hugo Barra, the Brazilian behind Xiaomi's rise

Far from a household name, the Xiaomi brand might still sound odd to most people, yet the Chinese smartphone maker considered by many 'China's Apple' is flexing its muscles to conquer territories far beyond its borders.

Despite all the success of Apple's iPhone 6 in China, Xiaomi reigns supreme as the top smartphone vendor in the country. According to research firm IDC, Android-based 'Mi' phones enjoyed a 13.7% market share in China in the fourth quarter of 2014, while Apple had a market share of 12.3%.

Another consultancy, Gartner, put Xiaomi in fourth place in Q4 worldwide sales, with a 5.1% market share and 18.5mn units sold. More importantly, Xiaomi recorded the largest market share hike among vendors, more than tripling sales in the period. The company is now ranked third in units shipped worldwide thanks to its sales in China.

But since relying solely on China's performance might make its business vulnerable, Xiaomi began last year to expand to other emerging markets, namely South East Asia and Latin America, where it believes its mid-tier, low-cost smartphones strategy can be equally successful. The first landing was in India.

And to lead this internationalization strategy, the company handpicked a Brazilian-born executive, Hugo Barra.

While not known by the main public, 39-years-old Barra is one of the most influential Brazilians in the mobile telecom industry.

After majoring in industrial engineering at the Minas Gerais federal university (UFMG) in Brazil, Barra entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he got a minor degree in economics and master's in electronic engineering and computer science.

It was also during his period at MIT that he co-founded the software startup Lobby7, later acquired by ScanSoft, which then became Nuance Communications. Barra held several development and management positions at the company.

Prior to joining Xiaomi as international VP in 2013, Barra was global vice president at Google's Android division.

He first joined Google in 2008 as product manager for the company's mobile unit, migrating then to the Android development team in 2010. He worked on the development of the Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean and KitKat operating system launches.

Barra's native country is expected to be the first stop on Xiaomi's expansion to Latin America.

There are very few details available about Xiaomi Brazil. In its Facebook page, Barra stars in a series of teasers, where he says the business model will be no different than in China, with sales massively concentrated on e-commerce channels.

There is also scarce information about the devices the company will bring to the country. So far, telecom regulator Anatelhas licensed the company's Redmi Note.

Contacted by BNamericas, Xiaomi's newly appointed Brazilian PR agency said Barra was not giving interviews until the official launch in the country, which is expected to take place in the first half of the year.